Habitat holds 19th auction

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August 4, 2014 - 7:31am

Who are the people involved with the 19th annual LaGrange County Habitat for Humanity annual auction, held on Friday evening at the Shipshewana Auction Barn?

There are the bakers . . . of nearly 400 items sold on the “by donation” bake sale. Anonymous, these folks are, but such an integral part of the auction. They are complemented by their Haystack dessert colleagues who baked a tower of stacked slices of pie. And the servers and dishwashers , of course.

There are the donors . . . of items large (think of a single buggy, a bedroom suit, yard furniture, a folding ladder) and small (a trivet, a kitchen rug, a basket, a candle). An auction is just a gathering without biddable goods.

There are the volunteers . . . from chair stackers to rice scoopers to popcorn sellers (How big is a mountain of 25 pounds of popcorn after it’s been popped?) to clerks to dishwashers to auctioneers (How can the crooning auctioneer mimic those motor-cycle noises so convincingly?) to pick-up truck drivers, and the list goes on and on here as well.

There are the bidders . . . they generously raise their hands and leave the auction barn with a bagged quilt or a lawn mower or a bicycle or a new purse or a fresh flower arrangement or a baby doll . . . They open their wallets to support LaGrange County families who have housing need.

There are the 750 hungry haystack diners who ate their Friday evening meal in the food tent. One hundred five people topped off their meal with ice cream. And ninety-two cups of coffee, in August.

There are the partner families . . . at least ten past and future LCHFH families participated in this year’s auction. Some washed dishes, some sold ice cream, some donated noodles, and some attended and carried items home.

“I’m just so thrilled at the teamwork . . . this was an awesome year,” Mont Arnold, executive director explained. “It is the Holy Spirit at work in our county. I appreciate the crowd and the volunteers more than I can express.”

An assortment of auction photos can be viewed at www.lagrangehabitat.org or on Facebook with the search term “LaGrange County Habitat for Humanity.”

This week, of course, it’s back to business as usual for the housing organization, as a roofing project for A Brush with Kindness awaits completion and preparations for House # 24 in partnership with Martha Mast and her family are finalized